Tanto
Tanto was a small robot that was selected as a reserve for Series 7 of Robot Wars. Under loan to Team Immersion, Tanto did not qualify for the main 2016 series, but it was chosen to compete at the pilot episode, where the team were known as 'Team Tanto'. Unfortunately, upon their arrival, the arena was deemed unsafe for spinning weapons, and Tanto fought in the first round without the use of its weapon. Presenter Dara Ó Briain remarked that he particularly liked Tanto at the event. Tanto remained in the possession of Team Immersion, nowadays known as Team Nebula, after the pilot episode, and the robot was rebranded as Neutron, with the hopes of entering a possible future series. Tanto has also appeared regularly at British live events, though with little success, and was entered into the STEM Tech Olympiad in 2014 but lost both of its fights. The name Tanto is derived from Japanese tanto blades, which are short and compact like the robot Tanto itself. Versions of Tanto Version 1 of Tanto was originally a weapon-less robot but was armed with a spinning disc mounted on the front wedge so that it could try to qualify for Series 7 of Robot Wars. It, however, failed to qualify but was considered a reserve. It had wheel guards. This version could reach 22mph. Version 2 had a wedge with black stripes and wheels in wheel guards. Version 3 had two prongs to attack and push with instead of a solid wedge. This version of Tanto had thin wheel guards. This version displayed the huge pushing power that all the versions of Tanto possesses. This was because Tanto had 2x 11kw motors, that's 30HP in 100kg or 300HP per tonne. At a event in Magna in 2005, Tanto pushed 5 robots in one go. It also reached the finals of the Roaming Robots 2005 Winter Tour where it lost in the first round to Behemoth. Version 4 had prongs like the previous version but lacked the wheel guards. Version 5 featured similar prongs and exposed wheels. This version never competed after it lost a wheel when it clipped a curb during a test drive. Version 6 of Tanto was built in 2013. The new design maintains the tradition of Tanto being very small for a heavyweight, weighing in at 92kg and being just 65cm long, 50cm wide and 25cm tall. It also sports a new Union Flag-style livery, which was inspired by a robot design uploaded onto the Official Robot Wars Facebook page. Craig has revealed that this version can reach speed of 25-30mph. Tanto has a new top design consisting of the Danby family crest by the forks, Tanto at the back of the top and a "lucky" number, 23, to the side by a wheel. The final version of Tanto, and the first version of the machine since Version 1 to feature an active weapon. Team Immersion redesigned Tanto to feature a 25mm Hardox vertical single tooth disc. Craig Danby & Team Immersion worked together to build the setup in time for the pilot episode of Robot Wars in 2016. The robot was sold to Team Nebula consisting of Craig Croucher and Jack Tweedy after the Pilot, and subsequently renamed Neutron. Robot History Robot Wars Series 7 Tanto was entered into the seventh series of Robot Wars. Tanto defeated Piranha in its qualifier battle for Series 7. Usually, winning a qualifier would grant a robot automatic entry to the series, but Tanto was merely considered a reserve, and went unused. The team also failed to qualify that year with TX-108, which had previously failed to qualify for Series 5 and 6. 2005 UK Heavyweight Championships (Winter Tour) Tanto took part in the Winter Tour 2005 where it took on Behemoth in its first qualifier match at Portsmouth and lost after getting flipped about and rammed all over the place. But it was the more aggressive in its next qualifier against Ewe 2 which enabled it to not only win, but to qualify through to the finals at Folkestone. In the first round of the finals at Folkestone, Tanto met Behemoth again and got flipped about all over the place just like when they met at Portsmouth. This time Tanto landed on its side and was eliminated. 2006 UK Heavyweight Championships (Winter Tour) Tanto came back for the UK Championships 2006 as the 9th seed where it shared its pod with CTRip, Mighty Mouse & Tilly 1O1. CTRip had to pull out so all 3 robots instead of fighting in a league system fought in a 3-way melee. Unfortunately Tanto broke down and was eliminated. After getting beaten in the UK Championships, Tanto also featured in the Annihilator with Dantomkia, Spike, Iron-Awe 3, Kan-Opener and DisConstructor. It survived round 1 after Disconstructor got stuck on the arena wall and couldn't get down. Next it was instantly 5 robots to 4 as Iron-Awe 3 pulled out due to a technical problem, Tanto again ducked and dived. It got targeted by Kan-Opener at one point who tried to put Tanto in the pit, but was pushed backwards and went in itself instead. Next it survived Dantomkia's flips and neatly dodged Spike's axe but when Dantomkia threw Tanto against the wall which took out its link in the process, it was all over. 2010 UK Heavyweight Championships After a 4 year retirement, Tanto made a comeback as a new model in the 2010 UK Championships. It had problems with its mobility in its first qualifier match at Barnsley and lost to the top seed Maelstrom, and also lost its next fight at Whitwick to Ripper Evo. This left Tanto with 6 points in the league table. STEM Tech Olympiad 2014 In 2014, Tanto fought at the STEM Tech Olympiad event in Miami, Florida where it was destroyed by Brazilian competitor Touro Maximus. Tanto was repaired but lost to Team Toad's Polar Vortex by knock out. Robot Wars 2016 Although Tanto was selected to compete at the untelevised pilot episode, an event used to test the camera equipment, the arena was unfinished upon Tanto's arrival, meaning Tanto was unable to use its spinning disc weapon for safety reasons. Tanto fought Basher, Turbulence, and Ka-Pow! in the first round. Tanto was defeated when it drove over the top of Ka-Pow!, causing the small robot to somersault in the air, and lose its safety link upon landing. Tanto was immobile because of this, and Basher attempted to push it into the pit, but fell down with Tanto, and both robots were eliminated from the competition. Results Wins/Losses *Wins: 3 *Losses: 7 Category:Heavyweight Robots Category:British Robots Category:Robots armed with face spinners Category:UK Robot Wars Competitors Category:Robot Wars Live Event Competitors Category:Robots Live! Event Competitors Category:Robots that fought in the 2016 Pilot Category:Robots with Vertical Flywheels Category:Robots with Cutting Discs Category:Invertible Robots Category:Crowd favorites Category:Rambots Category:Competitors Category:Robots with more losses than wins Category:Robots from Bristol Category:Robot Wars 2016 competitors Category:2005 UK Championship Competitors Category:2006 UK Championship Competitors Category:Spanish Robots